Combustion apparatus.



J. S. COX.

COMBUSTION APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21. 1913.

Patented May 25, 1915.

Minx $14 flzforne ms.

SHINGTON. By C JOHN S. COX, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

COMBUSTION APPARATUS.

menses.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 25, 1915.

Application filed June 21, 1913. Serial No. 775,033.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, JOHN S. Cox, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Combustion Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to combustion apparatus of the sort which are used, for example, in determining the carbon content of steel and iron. Apparatus of this nature have heretofore been constructed comprising a small crucible of suitable metal, in which the material to be tested is heated, and which has a cover or stopper provided with connections for the admission of oxygen or other suitable gas and for the exit of the gaseous products of oxidation. The stopper fits in the upper end of the body of the crucible, and in order to secure a tight closure of the crucible it has been customary to employ a rubber packing gasket between the crucible and the stopper. It is necessary to protect this gasket, and also the rubber gas connections from the heat applied to the crucible. This has been accomplished in some instances by making the stopper which fits in the upper end of the crucible hollow and forming the crucible with a cooling chamber for the circulation through the same of a cooling medium. The formation of the cooling chamber on the crucible is objectionable because, as these crucibles are ordinarily made of platinum and are very expensive, it is desirable to make them of the simplest construction possible. Furthermore, the cooling water frequently leaves a deposit or incrustation in the coolingchamber and when the cooling chamber is formed integrally with the crucible it is difficult, if not impossible, to clean the same. The hollow stoppers are objectionable in that they do not always make a gas tight closure, and because the water of condensation which forms on the exposed portions thereof is apt to run into the crucibles when the stoppers are removed.

The purpose of this invention is to provide a combustion apparatus of the sort referred to with a cooling chamber and securing means for the cover of the crucible which permit the crucible and cover to be made of very simple construction and which insure a perfect gas-tight closure of the crucible and at same time adequately protect the packing gasket and the gas connections from the heat.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a combustion apparatus embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is an elevation thereof on a reduced scale. Fig. 3 is a sectional perspective view of the cooling chamber detached. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the bearing ring.

A represents the crucible and B the cover therefor. The crucible is made, as usual, of some suitable metal, such as platinum. The cover, which may be made of any suitable material, is provided with the usual tubes Z) 2') for the ingress of oxygen or other gas necessary to the process and for the egress of the products of oxidation. The crucible is provided at its upper end with an outwardly extending annular flange or rim 0 and the cover is provided with a corresponding rim or flange 0 between which and the rim of the crucible is placed a packing gasket of rubber or other suitable material D.

E represents an annular cooling chamber which is separate from the crucible and is made of suitable material, such as copper. This cooling chamber is relatively large as compared with the crucible and is provided with a central opening 6 in which the crucible is removably seated, and with an annular depression or recess (2, surrounding the upper end of said opening, adapted to receive the rim or flange c of the crucible. The crucible is supported in the central opening of the cooling chamber by the rim or flange c and by the engagement of the flaring walls of the crucible with the correspondingly shaped walls of the central opening of the cooling chamber. The cooling chamber is provided with suitable inlet and outlet tubes 7 f for the'circulation of a cooling medium through the chamber, and is preferably made with a bottom P which is soldered to the annular walls of the chamber and is adapted to be removed to permit the cleaning of the cooling chamber. The cover B of the crucible and the packing gasket are adapted to be received, in the recess or depression e of the cooling chamber and are retained thereby in proper position on the upper end of the crucible.

G represents a screw or clamping device for securing the cover firmly in place and compressing the packing gasket between the edge of the cover and the crucible to insure a gas tight joint. This clamping screw is arranged to turn in a screwthreaded central hole in a yoke H which extends from the cooling chamber above the cover of the crucible. Preferably the yoke H is separate from the. cooling chamber and is provided at its ends with hooks h adapted to engage under outwardly projecting lugs h at the opposite sides of the cooling chamber. The yoke is thus adapted to be detached and removed, permitting the crucible to be readily placed in position in and removed from the central opening'of the cooling chamber; I represents a tripod or spanner which is engaged by the clamping screw G and has a plurality of legs engaging a rigid bearing ringK which rests on the rim of the cover for transmitting the pressure from the screw to the cover. The bearing ring protects the cover from injury by the pressure of the spanner thereon and equalizes the pressure of the screw around the entire circumference of the rim of the cover. As shown, this bearing ring is confined in the recess or depression 6 of the cooling chamber, being thus held'in proper posi-; tion on the rim of the cover, and it is provided on its top with an annular groove 70 in which the legs of the spanner I rest, the spanner being thus held in proper position on the ring. 7

By means of the construction described the cover can be very firmly and tightly clamped in position on the crucible and a perfect gas tight closure of the crucible insured. The cooling chamber surrounds and is located below the packing gasket D and effectually protects the same, as well as the gas connections, from the heat of the flame which is applied to the lower portion of the crucible below the cooling chamber. The

cooling chamber can be made large enough to be thoroughly eflicient without unduly adding to the cost of the apparatus, and being separate from the crucible the latter can be made of simple construction, thus reducing the expense of manufacture of the crucible.

As the cooling chamber forms a solid backing for the rims of the crucible and cover and the cooling chamber and clamping means are large and strong, the pressure necessary to insure a perfectly tight joint can be exerted without injuring or deforming the crucible or cover. With a cooling chamber such as described it is not necessary to make the cover hollow for the circulation of the cooling medium.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination of a cooling chamber provided with a crucible opening, a crucible located in said opening and having a rim overhanging said cooling chamber, a cover for said crucible, packingbetween said cover and said rim, and means for pressing said cover toward said rim and compressing said packing, said overhanging flange holding said crucible from movement relative to the cooling chamber by said cover pressing means, substantially as set forth.

a depression surrounding the upper end of said opening, a crucible supported in said opening with the rim thereof'located in said" depression, a cover for said crucible, a packing gasket between said cover and said cru cible, said cover and gasket being confined in said depression, and means for securing said cover, substantlally as set forth.

4. The combinatlon of a crucible, a cover therefor, a packing gasket'between said cover and said crucible, a separate cooling chamber surrounding said crucible and ex tending above the same forming a recess in which said cover and packing gasket are confined, and means for securing said cover which react against saidcooling chamber,

substantially as set forth.

' 5. The combination of a crucible, a cover therefor, said crucible and cover having outwardly projecting rims, a cooling chamber surrounding said crucible beneath said rims, a bearing ring resting on said cover rim, and clamping means forsaid cover in connection with said cooling chamber and acting against said bearing ring, substantially as set forth. 7

\Vitness my hand, this 16th day of June,

JOHN S. COX. Vitnesses:

M. C. EWALD, W. H.- LOCKE.

Copies 01' this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addrcssing'the- Commissioner of'Patents; Washington, I). C. 

